Combination door and ironing board



Feb. 23, 1965 J. E. AVlDlYA COMBINATION DOOR AND momma BOARD Filed Dec. 9, 1965 INVENTOR. JAMES EAV/D/YA ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,170,417 COMBINATION DOOR AND IRONING BOARD James E. Avidiya, 15110 Rose Mar Ave., San Jose, Calif. Filed Dec. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 329,121 2 Claims. (Cl. 108-42) The present invention relates in general to home constructions, and more particularly to a combination door and ironing board.

Housewives have been frequently inconvenienced by the requirement of taking an ironing board out of a closet and returning the ironing board to the closet. The portable ironing boards are not as stable as one would desire. This is particularly recognizable when infants and children are playing in the vicinity of a portable ironing board.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a convenient structure for the mounting of an ironing board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a more stable arrangement for supporting an ironing board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement for storing an ironing board.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement for a built-in ironing board for a home. 7

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the combined door and ironing board of the present invention with the door in the closed position and the ironing board in its retracted position. a i

FIG. 2 is front elevational view of the combined door and ironing board shown in FIG. 1 with the ironing board in its retracted position.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section view of the combined door and ironing board taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 with the ironing board in the extended position.

Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a conventional partition and wall construction A that divides an area of a home, or any other structure employed for the housing of people, into adjacent rooms. The wall construction A includes wall slabs and panels, which are placed between and affixed to adjacent studs.

Formed in the wall construction A is a rectangular opening 10, which defines a passageway between the adjacent rooms. It is to be observed that the portion of the wall construction A to the left of the opening 10 as viewed in FIG. 1 may include studs and the like so as to be considered a solid partition and the portion of the wall construction A to the right of the opening 10 as viewed in FIG. 1 is void of studs and the like for the height of the opening 10 as to be considered a hollow partition of the wall construction A.

Fixed to the wall construction A and depending from a horizontal stud immediately above the opening 10 is a conventional flanged rail 11 (FIGS. 1 and 3). Carried by the rail 11 for movement along a horizontal path are a plurality of conventional spaced rollers 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The rollers 12 move along the rail 11 in a manner well-known in the sliding door art.

Suspended from and supported by the rollers 12 is the combined door and ironing board 20 of the present invention. More specifically, a sliding door 21 has affixed thereto brackets 22 which mount the rollers 12 for rotation. Thus, the sliding door 21 is supported for sliding movement by the rollers 12 along the rail 11. In this manner, the door 21 can be moved between a position closing the passageway opening 10 (FIG. 1) and a position removed from the passageway opening 10 by occupying the space in the wall construction A to the right of the opening 10 as viewed in FIG. 1.

Formed in the door 21 is an opening 25 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which has a configuration conforming to the contour of an ironing board 30 when disposed in an upright or retracted position. In the preferred embodiment, the perpendicularly disposed opening 25 extends through the door 21.

For mounting the ironing board 30 to the door 21 for pivotal movement between a retracted position (FIGS. 1 and 2) and an extended position (FIG. 3), a tubular rod 31 is received by a bore 32 formed in the ironing board 30 transversely thereof. Opposing ends of the rod 31 extend beyond the ironing board 30 and are received by suitable axially aligned bores 33 formed in the door 21 for rotation therein. The rod 31 is in the nature of a hinge to provide pivotal movement for the ironing board 30 relative to the door 21.

When the ironing board 30 is in the extended or horizontal position, it is held in this position through a foldable rigid support bracket 40. As shown in the drawings, the bracket 40 includes an upper section 40athat is pivotally attached to the lower surface of the ironing board 30 within a groove 41 by suitable means, much as a hinge. A lower section 40b of the bracket 40 is pivotally attached to the upper section 40a of the bracket 40 by suitable means, such as a pivot pin. The free end of the lower section 40b is adapted for anchoring within a notch 42 formed in the door 21 below the opening 25. The upper and lower sections 40a and 40b of the bracket 40 are channel shaped and interlock so as to form a secure junction when the free end of the lower section 40b is inserted into the notch 42.

The ironing board 30 may be pivoted in an opposite direction so as to be used within the adjacent room. In this regard, the ironing board 30 may be reversible and the opposite surface thereof becomes the clothes supporting surface. To provide fiat, smooth ironing surfaces, at suitable cloth stocking 45 (FIG. 3) is detachably secured to the ironing board 30. The cloth stocking 45 has a resilient yieldable hem so as to form a snug fitting and detachable cover for the ironing surface. A similar bracket arrangement and notch is provided to support the ironing board 30 in its extended position, when the reverse side thereof is used for ironing.

A dual electrical outlet for an electrical cord is mounted within the ironing board 30 adjacent the rod 31 or adjacent the pivotal aXis of the ironing board 30 with the electrical contacts back-to-back and facing respectively the opposing surfaces of the ironing board 30. A suitable yieldable or flexible electrical conduit 51 or cable is connected to the electrical outlet 50 and is also connected to a source of electrical power. The conduit or cable 51 is concealed within the wall construction A. A conventional junction box, not shown, may be provided to connect the cable 51 to the source of electrical power.

For pivoting the ironing board 30 from its retracted position, a convenient opening 53 is formed in the lower surface of the ironing board 30 to receive the finger of an operator. To retain the ironing board 30 in its retracted position, a suitable resilient clip 55 is fixed to the door 21 and has the free end thereof in yieldable engagement with the upper portion of the ironing board 30. A suitable opening 56 is formed in the door 21 to facilitate the sliding of the door 21 relative to the wall construction A by an operator. Door stops 60 project from the wall construction A to render the door 21 more stable when in the closed position. Formed in the wall construction A is a receptacle 61 lined with suitable nona inflammable material, such as asbestos, to store an iron.

In the operation of the combined door and ironing board 20 of the present invention, the passageway 10 may be initially open. An operator desiring to use the ironing board 30 moves the sliding door 21 to close the passageway 10. Thereupon, the operator lowers the ironing board 30 by pivoting the same about the rod 31 relative to the door 21 until the horizontal or extended position for the ironing board is approached. At this time, the bracket 40 is folded to the extended position and the free end of the lower section 4% is inserted into the notch 42. Now, the electrical cord for an iron is inserted into the electrical outlet 50.

When it is desired to return the ironing board to the retracted position, theoperator removes the lower portion 40b of the bracket 40 from the notch 42. The lower section 401) is folded adjacent to the upper section 40a and the entire bracket 40 is placed within the groove 41. Then, the ironing board 30 is pivoted into the opening 25 of the door 21. When so inserted, a smooth planar surface is formed with the door 21 and the ironing board 30. The sliding door 21 can be moved to open the passageway 10. While the passageway 10 is described as being between two rooms, it is apparent that it could be between a closet and a room or a portion of a closet.

It is to be understood that modifications and variations of the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a wall construction, a door mounted on said wall construction for sliding movement, said door being formed with an opening therethrough conforming to the contour of an ironing board, an ironing board, means interconnecting said door and said iron board for supporting said ironing board for pivotal movement relative to said door from an upright retracted position within said opening to alternate extended horizon- 4 tal positions removed from said opening for providing reversible ironing surfaces in I respective adjacent areas, and means interengaging said door and said ironingboard for retaining said ironing board in either of the extended horizontal positions.

2. In combination, a wall construction, a door mounted on said wall construction for sliding movement, said door being formed with an opening therethrongh conforming to the contourof an ironing board, an ironing board,

10 a tubular rod interconnecting said doorand said ironing board for supporting said ironing board for movement about a pivotal axis relative to said door'from an upright retracted position within" said opening to alternate ex-. tended horizontal position removed from said opening 15 for providing reversible ironing surfaces in respective adjacent areas, means interengaging said door and said ironing board for retaining said ironing board in either of the extended horizontal positions, an electricaloutlet mounted on said ironing board adjacent the pivotal 20 axis of said ironing board, and an electrical conduit in said wall construction received by said tubular rod for supplying electrical energy to said electrical outlet.

References (Iited by the Examiner FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner[ CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A WALL CONSTRUCTION, A DOOR MOUNTED ON SAID WALL CONSTRUCTION FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT, SAID DOOR BEING FORMED WITH AN OPENING THERETHROUGH CONFORMING TO THE CONTOUR OF AN IRONING BOARD, AN IRONING BOARD, MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID DOOR AND SAID IRON BOARD FOR SUPPORTING SAID IRONING BOARD FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID DOOR FROM AN UPRIGHT RETRACTED POSITION WITH IN SAID OPENING TO ALTERNATE EXTENDED HORIZONTAL POSITIONS REMOVED FROM SAID OPENING FOR PROVIDING REVERSIBLE IRONING SURFACE IN RESPECTIVE ADJACENT AREAS, AND MEANS INTERENGAGING SAID DOOR AND SAID IRONING BOARD FOR RETAINING SAID IRONING BOARD IN EITHER OF THE EXTENDED HORIZONTAL POSITIONS. 